stylus

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

n. A sharp, pointed instrument used for writing, marking, or engraving.

n. Computer Science A pointed instrument used as an input device on a pressure-sensitive screen.

n. A phonograph needle.

n. A sharp, pointed tool used for cutting record grooves.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

n. A sharp stick used in ancient times for writing in clay tablets; a sharp tool for engraving.

n. A phonograph needle.

n. A small plastic stick used as a pen for writing on the touch sensitive screen of an electronic gadget.

n. A tool for making small dots on a piece of heavy paper, used to produce Braille writing for the blind by hand.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English

n. An instrument for writing. See style, n., 1.

n. That needle-shaped part at the tip of the playing arm of phonograph which sits in the groove of a phonograph record while it is turning, to detect the undulations in the phonograph groove and convert them into vibrations which are transmitted to a system (since 1920 electronic) which converts the signal into sound; also called needle. The stylus is frequently composed of a hard metal or of diamond.

n. The needle-like device used to cut the grooves which record the sound on the original disc during recording of a phonograph record; it is moved by the vibrations given to the diaphragm by a sound, and produces the indented record.

n. A pen-shaped pointing device used to specify the cursor position on a graphics tablet.

from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

n. A sponge-spicule of the monaxon uniradiate type, sharp at one end and not at the other. It is regarded as an oxea one of whose rays is suppressed.

n. In entomology, a style or stylet.

n. In a phonograph, a pointed part which rests on the diaphragm and is moved by the vibrations induced in the latter by sound-waves. It is used to produce the record of sounds upon the phonographic cylinders, and also to reproduce the sounds thus recorded.

Piezoelectrical elements are used to control the horizontal movement of the stylus in two perpend icular directions so that it scans the surface a long parallel lines - hence the name scanning microscope The vertical movement of the stylus is controlled and measured using another piozoelement.

However, I can see where some folks might consider the 5-inch screen a good trade-off for much better portability than other tablets, and Samsung has done some very interesting work in making the stylus, which is stored in a slot on the device, useful.